Cigarette-holder.



W. DURAND.

CIGARETTE HOLDER.

APPLIOATION FILED MAYG, 1905.

WITNESSES IVM 1 M M 144M i INVENTOR anzq fi If r ATTORNEY.

T'i'NrTnn .sTATns PATENT Trier:

YVALLAOE DURAND, OF NEYV ARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO DURAND AND 00., OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

CIGARETTE-HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 20, l 906.

Application filed May 6, 1905. Serial No 259,096.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALLACE DURAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cigarette-Holders; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to numerals of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The objects of this invention are to fasten the series of cigarettes in position in the two sections of a cigarette box or holder after said box or holder has been opened or while the sections are being opened apart with a rapid, quick, or sudden spring action, and thus prevent said cigarettes from being thrown' out of place in said sections; to enable the said cigarettes arranged in series in said box or case to be released from the holding or fastening means after the box or case has been opened, and to enable such releasing to be accomplished with great convenience and ease; to provide a simple and effective construction and one involving no excessive cost; to secure a neat and appropriate construction, and to obtain other advan tages and results, some of which may be referred to hereinafter in connection with the description of the working parts.

The invention consists in the improved cigarette box or case and in the arrangements and combinations of parts of the same, all substantially as will be hereinafter set forth and finally embraced in the clauses of the claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of, the several figures, Figure 1 is an end view of a cigarette box or case of my improved construction. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional View of the same on line 00 of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the construction of the hinge and cigarette-holding arms arranged in connection therewith, and Fig. 4. is a detail View showing the means for fastening and releasing the cigarette-holding arm from the series of cigarettes.

In said drawings, 5 and 6 indicate two sections of the box or case hinged together on a hinge-pin 7, the hinge eyes or tubes 8, attached to said sections and in which the said hinge-pin is arranged, being placed near the opposite ends of said sections, as shown in Fig. 3, thus leaving the portion of the hingepin centrally between the ends uncovered to receive the spring 9, by means of which the said sections are forced apart automatically when released, and also to receive the cigarette-fastening arms 10 and the springs 11 for automatically operating said arms, as hereinafter described. The springs 9 and 11 on said hinge-pin are preferably spirallycoiled wire springs, as shown, the opposite ends of which bear oppositely against the hinged parts to open the same when said parts are released. The sections 5 and 6 are suitably held closed for the pocket by any ordinary catch at their free edges or sides, said catches not being shown except generally, as indicated in Fig. 1 at 12.

From the above description it will be understood that upon pressing upon the catch 12 and releasing the free edges of the sections 5 and 6 the spring 9, pressing oppositely at its extremities 91 and 92 upon the sections 5 and 6, respectively, will throw such sections open with considerable force. Should the cigarettes lying within the sections 5 and 6 in series, as indicated. in broken outline in Fig. 2, be free or unsecured in their places, the same will be thrown out from the case by the quick opening movement. To avoid this, I have provided the sections with fastening-arms 10 10, one of which is adapted to lie transversely across a series of cigarettes, one arm lying across the series of one section and the other arm across the series of the other section, each arm holding a series in place when the said sections are released and fiy suddenly open.

The opening movement of the arms is controlled by the springs 11., arranged on the same hinge-pin 7 with the spring 9, thus utilizing the one hinge-pin to hold the two classes of springs and securing a simple and economic construction conducive to greater convenience and neatness of construction. The springs 11 thus arranged are adapted to throw the arms pivotally across the entire space between the open sections when said arms are released, as indicated in Fig. 3, so that the open arm backs against the cigarettes of the opposite section, leaving the space clear to permit a free manipulation of the released cigarettes.

To enable the cigarettes to be released after opening the box or case by the one hand holding the said box, so that the other hand will be free to grasp or pick out the desired cigarette, I have provided automatic releasing means adapted to be conveniently manipulated by the hand holding the open box, so that either one of said arms may be released, as above indicated, and when released automatically rise or move away from its series of hinge-tube 8 thereof and parallel with such tube. Said case 15 contains a spring 16 and the body of the catch 14, the latter being movable within said case 15 and held in catching relation by the said spring 16. The said catch proper, 15, is hook-shaped at its inner end, so as to form a slot to receive a bearing 17, and its extremity is beveled, as at 18, to be engaged by the cooperating catch, so that the latter will move said catch 14 longitudinally when the sections are pressed together in closing the box. The body of said catch 14 extends through the tubular case 15 to the outside of the box, where it is provided with a finger-piece 20, which lies very near to the hinge-pin 7. Thus when the box 5 6 is held open between the thumb and finger the finger may press one finger-piece 20, and the thumb may press the opposite linger-piece lwithout interference with the hold upon the It may be noted that the arms 10 do not disturb the cigarettes lying within the casesections 5, and when said arms are released and fly open or away from holdingrelation to the series of cigarettes lying in the chambers or cavities formed interiorly by the sections said cigarettes are permitted to remain in their positions, but entirely free to be picked up by the fingers at will. Because there is no disturbance of said cigarettes lying in their chambers or receptacles they are not thrown out of their receptacles by the actions of the springs 11 and if loose thrown to the ground.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is- 1. The improved cigarette-case, comprising hinged sections having an interior chamber for the reception of the cigarettes, a

cigarette-holding arm adapted to lextend across said cigarettes and hold the same in place in said chamber, a catch for holding said arm in cigarette-holding relation and having a fingenpiece at the outside of the case, springs for throwing said arm away from said cigarettes when said arm is released from said catch.

2. The improved cigarette-case, comprising chambered sections adapted each to contain a series of cigarettes, a hinge-pin joining said sections, holding-arms arranged on said hinge-pin and ada ted to extend across the cigarettes to hod the same in place in said sections, catches for holding said arms across the cigarettes, said catches extending from said arms to the outside of the case where said catches may be manipulated by the fingers, and springs for throwing the arms from said cigarettes when said arms are released from said catches.

3. The improved case comprising sections, a hinge-pin joining said sections, spring-actuated holding-arms arranged on the hingepin of said sections, a spring for throwing said sections open, other springs independent of the case-opening spring but arranged on the same said hinge-pin therewith, for throwing the arms when released away from the contents of the case, and catches adapted to fasten the arms against the said contents to be held on closing the sections together.

4. The improved cigarette-case, comprising hinged sections, cigarette-holding arms, springs arranged and adapted to throw the said holding-arms away from the cigarettes upon said arms being released and catches adapted to fasten the arms against the cigarettes on closing the hinged sections together, substantially as set forth.

5. The improved cigarette-case, comprissections and movable 1n a direction parallel with the hinge-pin, said catches being re leased from said arms by pressure on the finger-pieces, and springs for said catches.

6. The improved cigarette-case, comprising hinged sections each on the one hinge-pin and adapted to receive or contain a series of cigarettes, arms hinged on the same hingepin with said sections, a spring arranged on said hinge-pin and tending to throw said sections open when the same are released, other springs arranged on the same hinge-pin and bearing on the said arms one to throw one arm away from cigarette-holding relation to one section when said arm is released and the other away from cigarette-holding relation with the other section when released, and means adapted to hold said arms in cigaretteholding relation after the sections are opened.

7. The improved cigarette-case, comprising hinged sections each on the one hinge-pin and adapted to receive or contain a series of cigarettes, arms hinged on the same hingepin with said sections, a spring arranged on said hinge-pin and tending to throw said sections open when the same are released, other springs arranged on the same hinge-pin and bearing on the said arms one to throw one arm, when released away from cigarette-holding relation to one section and the other arm when released away from cigarette-holding relation with the other sections and catches for holding said arms closed toward the cigarettes, comprising tubular cases secured to the case-sections parallel to the hinge-pin and containing a spring, and a sliding rod, hookshaped at its inner end to engage a cooperating catch on the arm and at its outer end having a finger-piece.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 2d day of 25 May, 1905.

WALLACE DURAND. Witnesses:

CHARLES H. PELL, S. R. GRovER. 

